Burdastyle satin joggers

I’m definitely on a Burdastyle roll this year. And largely thanks to Saturday Night Stitch who prompted said roll with her #burdachallenge2018 over on Instagram. I didn’t commit to a set number of projects because, knowing me, I’d end up self-sabotaging my own plans (because that’s my favourite hobby apparently) and not make any at all! So in not making a declared commitment I’ve made two glittery bell-sleeve dresses, one black, one red (quelle surprise), a red raglan sleeve top which I’ve yet to blog and these awesome satin joggers that I made for my daughter:

Satin joggers by ooobop

I feel I can say ‘awesome‘, not to big myself up but because the fabric choice and the style was all down to Little Miss O. It’s very rare that she will accept a hand-made offering these days, preferring a high street label or a funky second-hand designer deal from Depop. So when she came to me with this request I couldn’t wait to get started.

I’m so thankful for my collection of Burda mags. There’s always a something I can use or adapt but in this case, the exact pattern I needed was nestled inside issue 04/2017. And if you don’t have it in your collection it’s available as a pdf download from the Burda website

Burda satin joggers
Satin joggers from Burda Style issue 04/2017

I was a bit worried about the non-stretch factor of a satin brocade but the cut of the pattern was excellent. Allowing enough room to negate the need for expansion!




She didn’t want to include the zippered pockets. She felt that it would upset the shape of the leg, create more bulk and look ugly… Who’s the dressmaker round here?! She also rejected the drawstring at the waistline so I just incorporated an extra channel of elastic instead. talking of which, I’m a bit irritated by the ‘roll’ of the elastic. Doe’s anti-roll or non-roll elastic really make that much difference? Please let me know I’ll invest if it does. My loyalty to my Shepherds Bush haberdashery stall is strong but I feel I could possibly betray allegiance for the sake of a well-behaved elastic. Just don’t tell!

I included 3 channels of 1cm elastic at the waist. This technique worked so well for Amelia Fang’s petticoat so I didn’t see why it wouldn’t work so well for these.  The instructions called for 1.5cm width. Maybe that’s where I fell down. Or maybe that there was more fabric to gather at the waist for the petticoat and so less room for the elastic to move around.

satin joggers waistband

It’s not such a biggie when they are on. Seems to straighten out. I did stick to the instruction of 2cm wide elastic for the 2 channels at the ankle cuff and that seemed to stay in place a bit more.

satin joggers ankle cuff

These joggers sew up real quick. Especially if you’re leaving out the pockets. And even quicker when your daughter needs them in half an hour because she is going out and has ‘literally nothing to wear’. These inimitable words groans are recited literally every week accompanied by a stomp up the stairs. I’d like to say they took half an hour though the threading of the elastic probably took that long! But it really wasn’t much longer than an hour or so.

satin brocade joggers

She’s had so many lovely comments about them and already wants another pair in black with pink stripes. I’m sure she could find those in the shops but to be fair, I really like that she wants me to make them. I like that she dictates how she wants them and recognises faults and fitting issues in RTW styles. It might sound a bit princess-like. But it’s also a learning curve. She can see what time is invested and she can see what works and what doesn’t. She’s currently in the process of making herself a slip dress that she is sewing all by herself along with a group of friends, all making the same. I’d like to think that I’ve got something to do with that but I don’t like to pressurise her. I prefer just to plant the seed!

So the trade-off for a second pair was that I got to take some photos of her wearing them for my blog post. Ordinarily not too much to ask but you’d think I was asking the impossible – sabotaging her schedule and ruining her whole life! I managed a five minute shoot. With no head. And a lot of huffs. Oh those hormones. Oh the joys!




Red glitter dress with bell sleeves

red glitter bell sleeve dress

Oh what a difference a sunny day makes. Meant I could withstand a shoot for a whole 15 minutes without a coat! And I’m so happy that Daniel could do them as he did such a fab job and I’m hopeless and impatient at the whole remote thing.




This dress is a bit late to the blog but was well on time for the party. It’s the Burdastyle bell sleeve dress that I made for New Years Eve. I clearly had a bit of time on my hands because I made two of these up in the space of that week between Christmas and New Year. You can see my black glittery version in the previous blog post, here.

red litter bell sleeve dress full length

This one is way more glittery and more red and more suitable for a dance at the disco than mooch down the Marks and Spencer aisles but I think its very likely I’ll be breaking those kinda rules.




The fabric doesn’t have as much stretch as the last one but I still managed to forgo a zip, just the same. It’s a lot less snuggly on account of the high metallic thread-count but that also means it doesn’t need an iron. I only tend to press seams during the making-of, these days and avoid at all cost those mum-style marathon ironing sessions in front of the telly. I’d sooner sew than iron!

red glitter bell sleeve dress Burda style

The downside of a fabric that won’t behave under pressure (and low heat) is of course the issue of pesky popping-out facings. I tacked them down at the shoulders and at the centre back seam and still they found an escape route. So I sewed by hand, tiny little stitches close to the neckline. It’s vaguely visible but way less annoying than flappy bits of fabric spoiling the picture!

red glittery bell sleeve dress

Because I was in a rush with this one, I didn’t overlock the seams. They are ‘pressed’ open. In the loosest sense of the word, lol. But the fabric isn’t ever going to fray because I tested that by giving it a bit of rough treatment and it remained calm and intact under pressure!

red glittery bell sleeve dress

The temptation is to make another 5 of these, so then I will have one for every day of the week. It give’s no grief to sew and it gets so many compliments in return for such little effort. I haven’t really styled it much here but chokers, big floppy 70s hats, a neck-tie, a faux fur scarf or some massive earrings, could all transform this dress for a totally different look.

red glittery bell sleeve dress by the fence

Bell sleeve dress burdastyle pattern

I still might make another one at least, though! I’d like to make it in a woven – with a zip of course – just to test the difference.